Boise Anti-Abortion Group Opens 'Clinic' in Belfast, First Operation Outside of U.S.

A Boise-based anti-abortion organization is in the middle of a mini- media firestorm in the United Kingdom this week. The BBC, The Telegraph, The Irish Times, Jezebel and the Belfast Newsletter all reported Wednesday that Stanton Healthcare, which has home offices on N. Harbor Lane in Boise, opened its first clinic outside of the U.S., in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Stanton Healthcare was founded by Brandi Swindell, former Boise City Council candidate, unsuccessful legal challenger to keep a Ten Commandments monument on city-owned property, and the woman behind a controversial ultrasound demonstration inside the Idaho Statehouse in March of 2012.

But Jezebel reports that Swindell's group has opened a "fake clinic" in Northern Ireland down the street from the Belfast's "only real" clinic, with the ultimate goal of "replacing" the real clinic which only provides abortions in the case of rape, incest or if the woman's life is in danger, as allowed by law.Only 23 terminations were carried out in Northern Ireland hospitals in 2014, while an estimated 2,000 women travel to England each year to have the procedure, according to the Telegraph.

In a statement, Precious Life, a Belfast group working closely with Stanton Healthcare, said Stanton's long term goal for what it called its "life-affirming medical clinic" was to replace the existing clinic. But Jezebel reports that the Stanton clinic doesn't provide actual medical care, "although they do offer something called a sexual integrity program."

In the current issue of Boise Weekly, we document how some Idaho lawmakers are already preparing for the 2016 session of the Idaho Legislature, where they'll propose legislation targeting Planned Parenthood.